Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill traveled to Yalta together on a single train ticket purchased under a different name. They sat through the night on a narrow berth in a cramped compartment, spooking fellow passengers. The trio's heads and hands traveled separately on a luggage shelf.
In December, the three wax figures of the World War II leaders arrived in the elegant Livadia Palace hereâ??the old Black Sea residence of the Russian czars that became the site of the 1945 Yalta conference that drew the map of postwar Europe. The statues were installed in front of a large round table where their real-life versions had discussed matters of war and peace. But the museum's director worries that her new wax figures may not have a lot of visitors to greet this summer.
"If the cruise ships don't come, we'll be in big trouble," says the director, Larisa Dekusheva.
As Yalta's tourism season approachesâ??the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin redrew Europe's map again and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, antagonizing the West and alarming the regionâ??many here also fear that this storied resort town will pay a price.
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